


the mirror of literature

by volunteer_of_hufflepuff



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Author Maia Roberts, BAMF Maia Roberts, Book Club, Domestic Malec, Domestic Saia, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Literature Nerd Alec Lightwood, Maia Centric, Multi, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, domestic idiots, magnus and alec are idiots, magnus and izzy and maia are all scientists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 18:18:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15646296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volunteer_of_hufflepuff/pseuds/volunteer_of_hufflepuff
Summary: In another world, Maia published a book under a pseudonym. Which wouldn’t have been a problem if it hadn’t caught such fire and acclaim in the publishing world that her book club chose to read it.It doesn't help that Maia heavily based two of the main characters on her pining friends, Magnus and Alec.(A.k.a Maia wants Magnus and Alec to get together so badly that she wrote a book where they did.)





	the mirror of literature

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Here is my first big bang fic which I am very excited to share with you all.
> 
> It's pretty fluffy with a dash of angst.
> 
> Thank you to [zahrabane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zahrabane/pseuds/zahrabane), who has been a wonderful beta who patiently engaged in soup and other miscellaneous discourse with me.
> 
> Thanks to [ Tiger_Tiger_Burning_Bright ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiger_Tiger_Burning_Bright/pseuds/Tiger_Tiger_Burning_Bright) for designing an amazing banner for this fic.
> 
> And last of all, thank you to the ShHiatusBang team for creating such an amazing and welcoming event.
> 
> Dian here is pronounced Dee-ahn and the book scenes deal with implied racism/classism.
> 
> If anyone feels like livetweeting, you can use #tmolfic.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy! I take no responsibility for my characters actions.

 

The room blazed with brilliant light, but nothing was brighter than the smile gracing Alec’s face as held up a book, second only to the one that blossomed around Magnus.

Maia blinked. Was she dreaming? No, Alec and Magnus were always together in her dreams.

"Yes," Alec continued, oblivious to her internal dilemma, "I know, historical romance isn't really our typical genre, but apparently it has really good LGBT+ rep. And it's very well written. Why not?"

Maia wished that she were anywhere but here. Compliments had never been her forte, and when she couldn't even acknowledge them due to, well, no one knowing that they were meant for her, the awkwardness increased infinitesimally.

"Maybe not," she said weakly, fully aware of the excruciating amount of detail that their book club usually pulled their books apart with. They had created the book club in their last tipsy year of college. As they were now well established, Maia knew from experience that the scrutiny of one book could last a whole month.

Hm. Maybe she shouldn't have based some of her characters so heavily on her friends, and maybe she shouldn't have kept her writing aspirations under wraps, but... well...

She couldn't exactly say _hey, I wrote that book,_ now - could she?

No, it would be interpreted as a joke. It seemed she had written herself, unintentionally, into a massive corner.

And this time, unlike when the words were simply hanging out on the page, she couldn't use the power of her fingers to push herself out.

"No, Maia," insisted Magnus, the gleam in his eyes as he watched the book unnerving, "this is an amazing book! It's a historical divergence where Constantine was openly bi so 'love is love' was a message thrown across the world alongside with Christianity, and same-sex marriage has been acceptable for centuries!"

"That’s not preventing," she said, already resigning herself to eternal damnation and _why couldn't Magnus and Alec just get together, dammit,_ then she wouldn't be in this situation in the first place, "racism, classism, transphobia, and all the rest, Magnus."

Raphael looked up from where he was scanning something on his phone. "Yes, but it acknowledges all of that and challenges it. Hell, the main character is even aroace and wants nothing to do with the world of marriage, which is why she's so invested in her brother's marriage!"

"Don't even try to stop this," Alec said, settling back down on the couch next to Magnus in an infuriatingly domestic manner, "we're choosing it. The library's copies are all checked out for months, but the books are only ten dollars each. And we're not broke college students anymore."

Okay. Now her friends were going to be unintentionally supplementing her new burgeoning source of income. Yet if she turned up with the 10 or so signed copies she had hidden back at her place that would raise a few eyebrows.

At the time, writing under a pseudonym seemed like the right thing to do for privacy, in case it blew up in her face or rocketed into the sky, as it had done. She'd fallen asleep late the night before it was slated to release, and when she had woken up - when she had checked her inbox, there had already been a review on her book. And it had been positive!

The ensuing build-up had been slow, but a few weeks after the release, she got a call from her agent. It was on the New York Times bestseller list.

And, well, no one except her boyfriend, Simon Lewis, knew that it was Maia Roberts behind the bestselling novel of _Division_. Only the name A. Wright appeared looping across the cover with an abrupt, impersonal author address on the inside.

"Okay," she said weakly, "if you say so."

...

The idea for the novel had come to her in the midst of one of her history lectures. They were discussing 'the spread of Christianity' which could have been 'the spread of a disease' for all it sounded like.

Discrimination, she wrote down. And then Constantine's mother became Christian, so Constantine became Christian, and everyone was like, CHRISTIANITY IS IN! STOP BURNING THEM!

But what if... Constantine had been something else, too?

The idea was ridiculous - what if Constantine had been an openly bisexual man - and the slogan love is love was in there with blind faith to the church... oh no.

But, a story, set in that type of era long after Constantine’s death when the message was thoroughly entrenched would be so much fun...

The next day, when Simon caught her furiously typing away at a story, not her essay, she had frozen. _Disappointment_ , her father's voice curled across her skin. _Unlovable_ , smirked Dylan, perfect even in death. And Jordan would have taken the laptop and thrown it away - _how dare you not pay attention to me?_

But Simon was sweet. Simon was not like the other guys in her life that had taken her soul when she had offered them a tether naively; she did not just nurture him, but he nurtured her.

"Hey," he said, putting down a coffee cup, "what are you working on?"

"Should be my essay, but," she sipped the coffee, the absolute correctness of it blowing her away. No one had cared enough her before to know something as mundane as her coffee order. "Well, let's just say that my imagination is taking me for a ride."

"You write?" Simon asked, his eyes brightening, but it wasn't mocking. Simon wrote and performed his own songs himself; he used to be in a band with a girl called Maureen, but she had had a very creepy crush on him and ended up going out-of-state for college anyway.

"Yeah," Maia sighed, "here and there. It's fun. Free. Do you want to read it?"

Simon shrugged. "Sure."

The scene she had written was an idle thing, a sister reflecting on her brother Michael's brewing romance with an Indonesian merchant in the early 20th century British aristocracy. She had already had so much fun researching the era.

"This is," Simon paused, handing Maia her laptop back, "amazing! Maia, I think you could make this into a book!"

"Don't be silly," Maia laughed, shaking her head as she closed her laptop. "I'm not that good and anyway, writing is just a hobby. Brooklyn 99?"

Simon slid onto the couch next to her and immediately cuddled up to her, close but not too close, just the way she liked it.

"Sure," he said.

"One last thing," she said as the screen flickered on, "don't tell anyone else, okay? I'm fine with you knowing, but..." she swallowed, "it'll make it too serious if everyone else knows."

"Also," she whispered, "Michael may be based on Alec. A tad."

...

A tad was being generous, Maia thought in reflection as Alec read out the opening passage.

"It was fine to be gay, yet the consequential lack of biological heirs greatly troubled their parents. As it would be frowned upon to force her brother to marry a woman, it would be Edith who would shoulder the burden of continuing the ‘respectable’ Borthwick line. Yet, as a woman, it didn’t matter what Edith truly wanted; and that was no sex, no love, just a simple life without the twisting, winding complications of romance.” Alec closed the book.

Magnus peered around his glass of wine. "Intriguing. Is this what we're going to pick apart first?"

"Yep," Alec said, clearly excited. "I love that even in a society where men loving men and women loving women has been socially acceptable for years, the author still managed to catch the perfect atmosphere of social injustice for this era."

 _Did I_ , Maia wondered. She was pretty sure that she wrote that passage - and it had somehow flown by into the publishing stage - whilst sneaking glances at Alec laughing at something Magnus had said, several years ago, pure adoration in his gaze. They were not subtle. They also clearly needed to be clubbed on the head to see each other's emotions.

"Well," Maia began, "authorial intent is... normally overthought and overdone, to be honest."

Alec and Raphael were the two Literature majors in the room and, though Alec looked a little bit affronted, Raphael nodded resignedly.

"Well," Raphael began, "I love how the author shows just because one sector of LGBT+ became acceptable, it did not revolutionise the world, and how she challenges it. It is still set in the early 20th century, after all."

"The main character's aroace, right?" Catarina asked, sipping wine. "Representation is good and all that, but is it actual, proper representation?"

"Seems to be, so far," Alec said, "I'm already halfway through the book."

…

It was another evening under the blanket of spring when her second novel idea – a sequel – really started to spin and gather some strands to form something great.

"Hi," she said, spinning the sugar in her coffee around and around, "Magnus. How's the job going?"

"It's okay," Magnus assured her, all elegant airs as always.

"So, what's the latest? Anyone explode anything yet?"

"You work in a lab too," Magnus said, shaking his head, "I think you should know that the scientist stereotype is greatly exaggerated and the most interesting thing that happens is finding some organism that is a slightly different shade of blue than the rest."

The evening out here was warm; soft like toffee cooking in a pot, yet not burning. The sun was slanted, falling on Magnus but not Maia.

"How's living with Alec?" she asked.

"It's great." Magnus' eyes shone, and they were nothing on the sun. "Great, really, except..."

And then he went quiet, lost to the buzz and sway of the night, and Maia could fill in the blanks herself perfectly fine, but it was never spoken out loud.

"Has anyone fallen for the dihydrogen monoxide joke recently?" Maia said, flipping the conversation around, seeing Magnus' hesitance as disinterest and misplaced fear.

"Yes, actually," Magnus said drily, "this new intern called Raj. He's not very bright, but we're not paying him and he makes excellent coffee, so we’re letting him run his course."

"Wait. Raj?" Maia simultaneously felt like laughing at the coincidence and curling into a ball to sob. "Oh. Annoying, doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, thinks he is the God of everything, Raj?"

"Yes." Magnus was watching her closely now. "Yes, that sounds like him. May I ask why?"

"Um." Maia sipped her coffee, her hand trembling. "He's a friend of an ex."

"Oh." Magnus twiddled with his button. "Well, I'll glare at him extra hard for you, then."

"Thanks." Her chuckle was watery. "Do me a favour. If you guys ever have a plus one event, forbid anyone named Jordan from coming."

"Of course," Magnus smiled. He was only a year older than Maia, really, but he was more paternal to her than her father had ever been. "That won't be a problem. Interns don't get to come to company events, anyway. We've got the joint gala next weekend, though."

The topic change was a lot smoother than Maia's had been previously yet it still jarred Maia, coming out of both nowhere and everywhere.

"Yeah," she said, smirking slightly. "I was thinking of wearing my silver dress. Simon's coming but he's going to be wearing one of Raphael's suits. I'm not a bad shopping companion but apparently, his sister would force him to and she is a browser who takes literal hours." She paused, wondering how Becky was doing. "That's how I got my silver dress, actually."

"Appreciating your significant other's siblings," Magnus said, raising his cup, "that's what’s good."

Maia laughed. Magnus hadn't dated in ages. They all knew why. Magnus professed a preference for singlehood rather than lovesickness.

Well, Maia wasn't blind.

Oh. The offhand comment sowed a spark of inspiration for her next book. Her characters in her book – Dian and Edith - their relationship was starting to unwind in bountiful colours before her eyes, complex and tasteful, full of bountiful snide comments towards the parents as they lived together, initially tied together by Michael but soon, their relationship would flourish by itself.

Her eyes must have glazed a little bit because Magnus was looking at her in concern when she wrenched her mind away from her imagination.

Ah well. She remembered that at least Edith and Dian have a good enough foundation for the development to be authentic.

…

_They really had gone all out – the dining table was covered by a sweeping, cream cloth and the number of delicacies sprawled across the table almost made it groan._

_Yet all the extravagance in the world couldn't hide the tight, almost painful smiles her parents wore across the table as Dian awkwardly sipped at the carrot and parsnip soup._

_“The soup is amazing,” Dian said politely, his eyes brushing across the table to meet her father's eyes with a remarkably steady gaze. “My compliments to the chef.”_

_Yet the stony silence remained and all Dian received was a slight nod in acknowledgement._

_“I would be happy to pass your comment on,” Michael said, sipping his wine with a steady hand. “Miss Baxter is a simply splendid cook.”_

_“She definitely is,” Edith added, trying in vain to make Dian more comfortable in a heartless home, “wait until the treacle tart comes out, it’s marvellous.”_

_But the conversation still died down, petering away to slide under the cracks in the tiles._

_Dian put his spoon down, the metal clinking against the porcelain bowl. “Thank you for hosting dinner tonight, Lord and Lady Borthwick. This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I sailed into Plymouth.” A smile escaped Dian’s lips as Michael lightly brushed his hand against his in solidarity. “But it has been a riveting experience.”_

_“Right,” Lady Borthwick replied succinctly in her crisp, cutting voice, eyeing their brushing hands with barely concealed distaste. “It has been one for us as well.”_

…

“This,” Alec said, closing the book with reverence, “is the scene I thought we could discuss tonight.”

“My deep desire to slap the Borthwick parents only grows chapter by chapter,” Catarina said, swishing her wine around absentmindedly, “because they’re jerks.”

“Could you contact the author to arrange that?” Magnus asked, and Maia stiffened.

Raphael looked up from his phone. “Nah. They’re a pretty private person.”

“But,” Alec added, “if any of us ever do meet them, we promise to ask for you."

Then Alec frowned, bafflement sliding into his eyes like it was its second home. “This scene... it's great, but it's also giving me the eeriest sense of déjà vu - like I personally took on the brunt of some of their flames.”

Maia stayed quiet as 'of course' and 'that's not a coincidence' flitted through her head. She was almost certain that Edith slapped her father at some point later in the book for being a douchebag to her brother.

“Anyway, let’s put aside the asshole parents for a second and concentrate on the writing.” Alec sighed, a look of absolute contentment sweeping over his face that was only second to the way his gaze caressed Magnus. “It’s beautiful.”

Magnus let out a fond laugh. “Okay, literature nerd, let’s not go over-analysing this snippet. It is well written, though. It exhibits how cold Michael’s family is whilst also highlighting the sheer extravagance of their lifestyle.”

“Dian’s being so polite,” Maia said, cutting in, “if I was him, I would have sassed them.”

“You would,” Alec agreed, smiling, “and it would have been so good." He shifted slightly to face Magnus, focusing his next words on him, as he would not have if Magnus was yet another best friend. "But the subtly of those emotions, Magnus, is what makes them so powerful.”

“It is a perfect example of show, not tell,” Raphael said, finally putting his phone away. He pulled out his own copy of her book and flipped to the relevant page. “Look at this line. _Petering away to slide under the cracks in the tiles._ It gives away information about the setting whilst showing how awkward the situation is.”

“The symbolism is amazing.” Catarina put down her wine glass. “How there's a double meaning of the same phrase because it's expressed in totally different ways.”

She leant forward and snatched the book from Raphael. “They both agree that it has been a riveting experience – Dian and Lady Borthwick, that is.”

Catarina's eyes started to light up. “However – Raphael, look up riveting.”

Raphael groaned, leaning his head back against the couch. “Extremely interesting.”

Catarina grinned. “And the connotations of interesting have a broad spectrum.”

“That they do,” Alec said. “Dian thinks it has been a good thing, meeting Michael and falling in love, and Lady Borthwick thinks it has been intriguing to see her son fall in love, but she doesn’t like it one bit.”

“You may even go as far as to say that she hates Dian,” Raphael commented. “After all, he’s absolutely demolishing her plans for Michael to marry a ‘respectable’ Lord.”

“But Michael doesn’t care at all.” Alec grinned, but then his smile fell. “I wish I had the same courage.”

“Hey,” Magnus started, his voice soft but not as soft as his eyes, “bravery isn’t just bringing your extravagant boyfriend around to your asshole parents’ dinner. It’s also making your own path despite the external pressures.”

“Thanks, Magnus,” Alec replied softly. “At least my mother seems to be trying.”

“Who says you wouldn’t have done the same thing?” Maia asked, and Alec finally tore his gaze away from Magnus to look at her in utter bewilderment, his eyebrows scrunching together.

Alec shook his head. “Because I haven’t!”

“Yet,” Catarina said, looking directly at Alec. “You have been brave, but you haven’t been brave _like this_ yet. Honestly, Alec, your fixed mindset is so irritating sometimes.”

Alec groaned. “I get enough of this from Max whose teachers are currently pumping him with the ‘growth mindset’. Not you too!” He picked up the book and glared half-heartedly at Catarina. “Why am I getting attacked when we should be discussing this scene?”

“We’re complimenting you,” Maia corrected, both trying not to smile at Alec’s stubbornness and not cry at how low his self-esteem was. “Haven’t you gotten used to it?”

Magnus sipped his own wine, glaring at Alec fondly. “No, he hasn’t, and believe me, I have tried.”

“Well,” Alec said, scratching his neck, “as we have clearly exhausted this scene, let’s move onto the next passage.”

Catarina scoffed, picking up her glass. “Fine, but don’t think you’re avoiding our positivity forever, Lightwood.”

Alec waved her off and opened the book, starting to read.

_“Her father nodded…”_

…

The next time Maia saw Alec, it was under very different circumstances and though the alcohol had made him loose, it was nothing compared to the joy in Alec’s voice when they discussed literature.

The night had spun into vivid colours built out of drinks and laughs. But Maia had stayed firmly away from the swirl of alcohol. Losing control had never appealed to her, especially after she had met Jordan and seen what, exactly, that lack of control could 'make' people do - treat other people like dirt, like stepping stones, like places to hang their dirty laundry until they couldn't stand up any longer.

But tonight was supposed to be fun, a night to forget what shaped them all to be as paranoid of the world as they were. Yet nothing remained untainted.

Normally, Alec preferred to know alcohol as that friend of a friend that he hated but didn't have the heart to truly kick out. However, Izzy had coaxed Alec into trying gin tonight, under the threat of a story known as 'she-who-must-not-be-named'. Apparently, he liked gin, which led to an onslaught of shots and a drunk, strangely cheerful Alec.

Alec got up and hugged Izzy loosely, humming, with a wide smile and bright eyes as he nodded slightly along to the beat.

“You know…." he started, then stopped and threw his head back to the ceiling, laughing a little to himself.

“Yes?” asked Izzy, shaking her head.

“I remember,” Alec continued to stare up at the ceiling, a goofy smile painted on his face, “vaguely, I wasn’t that old, but I remember the day you were born. And you were so _small._ ”

He picked up his latest shot glass and gestured around the group, tearing up a little.

“This small!” Alec announced, clearly convinced that Izzy had been smaller than the amount of alcohol required to make him drunk.

Izzy snorted and pushed Alec off her. “No I wasn’t,” she said, yet she didn’t look entirely sure.

Alec barely noticed Izzy's protest; his eyes were unnaturally soft, almost as delicate as glass when his drunken gaze flickered to Magnus.

"Yeah, she was," Alec said with a deadpan voice which didn't match the growing warmth lighting up his eyes.

"Was she?" Magnus asked, leaning forward. One of his several necklaces caught on his drink, the golden chain looping around the cocktail, but Magnus didn't notice.

"Yes. It's why she needs to wear heels." Alec stumbled back off to his own stool. "Because she never got what I stole back."

Simon put down his own shot glass slowly. "You _stole_ a part of your sister when you were a toddler?"

"How else would I be so tall while she’s so little?! She's my little sister. Actually, maybe I didn’t. Mum would have been pretty mad." Alec smiled, but his eyes seemed to freeze. "Is Mum here?"

“Okay.” Maia put down her glass of water. “Alec, I’m taking you back to my place."

“Why?” Alec asked, swirling around his drink, the walls in his eyes continuing to crumble.

“Because you're drunk. And you are going to get progressively drunker. And as your fellow non-alcoholic friend, it is my duty to stop you before you are throwing up your guts the next morning. Whilst you might like to pretend that you have the same steely tolerance as Magnus does, you do not, since you didn’t start drinking the moment college began.”

Magnus peered at Maia over his third cocktail, which shimmered with an odd, slightly fascinating green light. "Harsh, but true."

“Fine,” Alec muttered, but it wasn’t resigned.

Maia picked up her bag and walked over to Alec, trying not to wince at how the throbbing music increased as she got closer to the dance floor.

She had never liked loud music. Not after Dylan had used it as a 'study' tactic. Subtle torture tactic would have been more accurate. But her complaints had always slipped past her parents' ears. They were too enamoured by the gracefulness of Dylan's swoops to pay attention to where he landed.

“Bye, everyone,” Alec said, giggling slightly.

Maia patted Alec gently on the shoulder. “And this is our cue to leave. Don’t get too drunk, everyone.”

The air outside of the club was brisk, but it didn't seem to sober Alec up much.

“Maia,” Alec said, his words starting to slur slightly, “don’t you think that Magnus looked especially beautiful tonight? His highlight looked so… shiny!”

It had, but no more than Izzy's, and that had been thanks to the painfully saturated light of the club. Fortunately, they had just reached the car so Alec could enter full-on sappy mode in peace.

“I guess so,” Maia replied, opening the car door. “But how are you, Alec?”

“Magnus,” Alec replied distractedly, not noticing that Maia had slipped away. “Wait, what was the question?”

“Never mind,” Maia said, trying not to laugh. “Get in. It’s clear how you are. How’s it being Magnusified?”

Her car started to heat up a little along with the song _Take On Me_ and Maia sighed. Simon has insisted on listening to the 80s station on their way here, singing along as if he didn't have a care in the world. Maia had let him, would have let him even if his singing had pierced her ears, which it hadn't. Thankfully.

“Great,” Alec said dreamily, “I’d love to kiss him, you know. But – but that wouldn’t be appropriate, you know! And he can’t feel the same way. He can’t. I’m just Alec, and he is Magnus,” he finished sadly.

The urge to laugh had flickered out nearly as quickly as it had bubbled up.

“Alec,” Maia said carefully, manoeuvring the car onto the surprisingly deserted road. “Don’t sell yourself short, ok?”

“But I’m tall!” Alec protested.

"Don't worry about it," Maia said. "Do you like this song? I can change the station."

Alec was starting to hum along. "No. Leave it. I like it. Magnus has a taste for the 80s and he dances to it and it's really cute and... I'm sick of pining, Maia."

She could feel his frown, even if she couldn't see it as the moon followed them down the streets of Brooklyn. The silence was a blanket, one for Alec to hide under safely and for Maia to cuddle.

"Maia? Do you know?" Alec paused, his voice tipped with anxiety. "If you don't, I'd like you to know that I only see Magnus in a strictly platonic way and that it'll stay that way forever."

Maia laughed a little as she turned into the car park. "Alec, it's okay, I know. If you asked me, I think you should go for it."

"Says the one with the boyfriend already," Alec muttered.

"We all know that nothing good in life is free. You have to work for it, and it's up to other people whether you are handed a prize you deserve or not. Alec, you'll never know if Magnus likes you back if you never try." The music turned off as Maia stopped the car.

Alec got out with minimal difficulty. "But what if he doesn't?" he whispered, fear twisting around his voice.

"Magnus isn't an asshole. It may be awkward but at least you'll know. Don't live in the what-ifs and the in-betweens. I should know." Maia sighed, her breath floating out into the cold air like little puffs of elegant dust.

Alec followed her up to her apartment in silence.

"I can't lose Magnus. He means," Alec swallowed, "way too much to me for me to even consider _risking_ losing him. I - I can't."

His voice was starting to pitch up to the stars.

Maia leaned against her apartment door, eyes flickering up and down the hallway, in case any of her neighbours were out and about before turning to Alec.

"Hey," she said, and this time her voice was softer, "you are going to be alright, Alec. If this does blow up in your face, or, if you never dare to even light the fuse - we won't abandon you."

She pulled Alec closer to her in a hug and he huffed a little in surprise. Maia wasn't usually known for physical contact.

"I love Magnus, but he will regret the day he ever met me if he breaks your heart." Maia could feel Alec's heartbeat speed up and her heart ached for all of the children like her and Alec who had been abandoned by their parents - or partially, maybe, for Alec. "Being told that you are unlovable doesn't mean that you are."

Alec nodded against her shoulder. “I know. Everyone keeps telling me. It’s just hard to let it sink in, to follow it, without feeling guilty.”

Maia pulled away, regarding Alec with a calculating yet soft gaze. "It took Simon years to teach me that. Hopefully, Magnus can teach it to you in a month. Now, let's go inside, and I'll make something that will hopefully stave off the edge of your inevitable hangover, you lightweight."

It wasn’t like Alec had done a lot of drinking in college; he had mostly studied with a dash of pining.

…

_It was almost nice, now, with finals almost done, to sit in the library and write out of contentment rather than pressure._

_Maia might have spent more time on her manuscript than was strictly healthy during her finals, but she still thinks she did relatively well._

_Now there was only a handful of exams left – and, of course, the friends sitting opposite her were taking one of them: Human Rights, a subject that Magnus was taking out of choice and Alec out of necessity._

_They were arguing over something or other, as Maia snuck glances, sipping her coffee, though the adrenaline alighting her mind had nothing to do with the caffeine she probably shouldn’t have been consuming at that moment._

_Magnus looked up at Maia and groaned. “All of my other subjects are over.”_

_“Yeah,” Maia said idly, putting her coffee cup down. “But you, quite determinedly, decided that it was an appropriate sacrifice to make.”_

_He had also, at a previous time and a little bit more than tipsy, admitted that with how vastly different his and Alec’s courses were, the elective opportunity would be the only way for Magnus to share a class with Alec. Not to say that Magnus wasn’t immensely interested in Human Rights – for he was – but on more than one occasion Maia had spotted Magnus stumbling out of a lecture, his eyes a little bit more than glazed, and not from boredom._

_It turned out to be an engaging and intriguing, if not at times devastating, course. But Maia preferred to spend her time in a lab and other related areas, not take such a vastly different subject area than her major because she was so infatuated with someone that she craved any excuse to be graced with their presence._

_Well. Simon Lewis from accounting was awfully cute, but perhaps not cute enough to take finance classes for._

_“I did,” Magnus said, sighing. His notes sprawled across the table, looping, intricate cursive and detailed diagrams. He was a chaotic yet determined student. “I’ll be back. Coffee, anyone?”_

_Alec nodded. “Yeah, that’d be nice. At least we didn’t study any genocides,” he muttered, lifting his pen in thought to accidentally stroke the tip of it across his face._

_Magnus was watching him fondly, a little dazed. “You’ve got some pen.”_

_Alec immediately looked up, rubbing at his face incessantly. “Where?” he asked._

_“Further to the left. No, down. How about this." Magnus put down his books. “Here. It won’t come off, but I’ll show you.”_

_And then Magnus delicately placed a finger on Alec’s cheek where a large streak of blue rested. “There. Now, I’ll be back soon with coffee. Take a break if you wish.”_

_Maia had kept her eyes glued to the screen during the encounter, but she couldn’t stop her heart from melting a little on the inside. They were so adorable._

_The scene she was writing now was intense, the climax; Edith finally telling her parents what she thought of them, that she would never be getting married and that she was going to go live with her brother and his 'scandalous' fiancé._

_But somehow, the burgeoning romance playing right in front of her eyes was so much more intriguing._

_Alec's gaze lingered on Magnus until he disappeared out of sight._

_Maia raised an eyebrow. "He's cute, isn't he?"_

_"I guess," Alec mumbled, closing his textbook. "If you're into that type."_

_"Not to my taste, personally," Maia said, thinking of old-fashioned glasses and a love for Star Wars, "but maybe to someone else’s whom I know."_

_Alec sputtered. "I don't like him."_

_"Really?" Maia said, sipping her coffee, watching her cursor flicker damningly on her screen. "Then why does he know your coffee order, like you know his?"_

_"Not like that," Alec snapped, "he's a great person! I just... don't like him that way."_

_Maia could feel another thread of inspiration start to hum under the surface; perhaps how Edith viciously defended Dian whilst slamming her father._

_"Sure, Sherlock," she said, "and Izzy wants to be a nun someday."_

…

The night was quiet, the breeze outside comforting, and Maia wished she could sink into this cotton candy kind of a moment forever.

Simon was next-door, humming, letting the popcorn grow into some sort of amazing delicacy in a process that he didn’t let Maia see.

Maia wasn’t going to complain any time soon. The popcorn he made lifted her up with its airiness: like she, by herself, with no pretences, was a likable person.

Maia had no problem expressing herself, had no problem ‘striving for higher things’ or acing exams or getting jobs.

But she wouldn’t say that her self-esteem was perfect.

All throughout her life, Maia had struggled with believing that there were people out there who genuinely liked her and also wanted to spend time with her.

She had been thrown out like a lolly wrapper way too many times to think that there was someone, anyone, out there for her – as a lover, a friend, a sibling, a parent – who would not use her but love her.

Simon was slowly dismantling those beliefs, but it hadn’t been easy.

The first time Simon had asked her out – and this was after Maia had introduced herself to his bubbe as his literal girlfriend – Maia had answered indecisively.

 _I don’t know_ , she had said, fiddling with a chip packet, _maybe? If you would like to._

It was only after her therapist had looked at her, baffled, and said _if someone as sweet as Simon Lewis asks you out, he’s being serious_ , that Maia had agreed.

And she hadn’t really looked back, honestly.

“It’s ready,” Simon called out, “you can come out now if you have blankets.”

“Of course I have blankets,” Maia scoffed, heading for the couch. “Come here, Simon. These movies aren’t going to watch themselves.”

Simon laid the popcorn gently, almost reverently, onto the carpet. He pulled one of the blankets off Maia’s lap, threw it over both of them and snuggled up to her.

“How’ve you been?” he asked softly as the credits of _Back to the Future_ started to roll.

“Okay,” Maia said, starting to run her hands through his hair, melting into the couch, “being a secret famous author appears to be a lucrative profession. All the money with none of the paparazzi.”

Simon turned his head a little and Maia’s hand caught on his ear. “Authors rarely get harassed anyway.”

“Beyond the point,” she said, pushing a lock of hair behind his ear, “now, Simon, let’s watch what not to do should you be thrown back in time.”

“Yeah,” Simon said, shifting a little until his legs curled up, the blanket now covering them both completely. “Kissing my mother is not on my bucket list.”

Maia sighed a little, her mouth twisting into a fond yet exasperated smile. “Simon.”

“Yes?” Simon replied innocently.

“Shut up.” Maia leant down to grab a handful of popcorn. “And I’m glad that you don’t support incest.”

…

"Turn the music up!"

Maia twiddled with the knob.

"Thanks, Maia. Have you got our plan straight?"

Maia laughed. "Our plan isn't very straight, is it? But yeah. Try to force Magnus and Alec into a romantic situation."

Izzy hummed along to the music. "Should we, ethically, be doing this?"

"Will they be angry when they realised that they were set up? Yes. Will the world be a better place when they're finally sucking each other's faces off? Also yes," Maia said as she swung into the car park. "And they'll just brush it off as us being weird."

Izzy took her legs off the dashboard. "If they didn't know that already, I'd be a little bit concerned. Alec was there during my phases. All the phases. The cooking one was probably my worst."

"I could swear that Magnus told me that Alec had a nightmare about that one a few weeks ago," Maia told Izzy as they stepped out of the car.

“Probably,” Izzy huffed.

The walk up to Alec's apartment was oddly quiet, the atmosphere full of lost chances and stubborn disbelief as they both tried not to laugh at their ensuing ‘mission’.

Izzy knocked on the door, loudly. "Open up and put something on. We're going out."

Alec opened the door slowly, his hair ruffled and feet stuffed into adorable fluffy socks. “But I want to finish this book and it's 10 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday.”

Izzy looked down at the book clasped precariously in Alec's hands. “Alec, the Odyssey is already millennia old. I think it can handle a few more hours of you not reading it. It won’t disintegrate into dust whilst we’re gone.”

“Fine,” Alec replied, shaking his head as he walked back to lie the book reverently down onto a stack of teetering books. It had been a gift from Simon, received with a curt 'thanks' and an 'it's pronounced o-da-sea, not ah-do-si'

"And it's not far from here," Maia added cheerfully, leaning against the door. "So we can walk."

Alec blinked blearily. "Okay. Let me put on some shoes first.“ He waved his hand behind him vaguely. "Come on in."

Maia hadn't visited their new apartment yet and it was, _oh_ , _so much softer_ than she had expected.

It was full of modern fixtures, but there were cobalt tiles glinting under the range hood instead of a typical flashback. The carpet was a soft charcoal and there was a multitude of photos scattered around the apartment of Magnus and Alec’s family and friends. It was a mostly open plan place, and Maia remembered how excited Magnus had been when they had discovered this apartment after months of searching.

 _It's perfect,_ he had said, _it fits both of us and it's got a good location and..._

His smile had drooped a little. _It's also got two bedrooms._

There was a heap of blankets lying on the massive couch in front of the television. It was still blinking with _would you like to continue watching The Good Place?_

Alec followed her gaze to where she was watching the flickering screen. “Oh. Ah, forgot to turn it off from last night. We,” his voice hitched a little, barely noticeable, “fell asleep whilst watching Netflix last night.”

There was a bowl of popcorn kernels lying at the foot of the couch and Maia was tempted to scream at the domesticity of it all.

Alec ran his hands through his hair and checked his reflection in the TV after he switched it off. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Maia ran her fingers through one of the blankets and almost sank into a well of softness. “Okay. Where did you find this apartment again, Lightwood? I want one.”

Alec snorted. “Your apartment is fine. And I don’t know. Magnus showed it to me one day and,” he shrugged, putting on an old coat that Izzy handed him like an afterthought, “we liked it and it was within our budget so we bought it.”

“Okay,” Maia said slowly, picking up her bag from where she had dropped it onto the floor. “You’ll enjoy the café.”

Alec sighed. “If they have black coffee, I’ll be fine.”

…

Maia could see Magnus leaning against the window, texting someone almost frantically as they approached. He stuffed his phone into his pocket hastily as his eyes flickered over them.

“Hello.” He jumped down from the stool, the sun bringing out his new golden highlights. “What brings you this way?”

Izzy walked in with an Alec trailing behind who only looked slightly ruffled. “I heard the coffee is great here. How’s the gala planning going?”

“Good, good.” Magnus wasn’t looking them directly in the eyes. “Hi Maia, Alec.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Maia asked, frowning, as she walked up to the counter to order. There was a small line; but it wasn’t that busy and it was sticky and warm inside the shop, like honey.

“I’m fine,” Magnus said dismissively. “And I’ve already got a coffee, so don’t bother getting me one.”

But his coffee looked almost full; definitely not the cause of his unusual jitteriness, and when Izzy and Alec sat down next to him, he jerked a little away from Alec.

Maia could see Alec place his hand on Magnus’ shoulder out of the corner of her eyes as she mindlessly calculated the cost.

But Magnus brushed off his hand and instead chose to swirl his coffee around listlessly.

Well. This wasn’t going to plan.

At least Alec didn’t appear hurt by Magnus’ rejection; instead, confusion and genuine concern started to grow in his eyes.

“Hey,” Alec muttered, “is the gala planning going alright?”

Magnus shook his head, still looking down at his coffee. “It’s not that.”

“What’s wrong then, Magnus? You can tell me anything.”

Magnus stopped swirling his coffee and mumbled, “I’m fine. Just… someone came into the hospital last night and it wasn’t good.”

“Oh.” Alec exhaled, rubbing his eyes as Izzy quietly pursued the newspaper. “Is Cat okay?”

“She will be,” Magnus dismissed. “It’s not her I’m concerned about, anyway. It’s… there’s this little girl called Madzie. She was in the foster system and she wasn’t treated well, not at all.”

Maia could see now why Magnus had deflated. He himself had been bounced around by a broken foster system that swallowed up kids without a care for the fact that they were actually human.

“Cat’s thinking of adopting her. And I’ll help,” he added, determination sparking in his eyes. “In whatever way, I can.”

Alec leaned forward and hugged Magnus, his touch feather-light. “So will I.”

Maia thanked the barista who handed her their drinks and walked over to where they were sitting by the window, Magnus’ eyes closed against Alec’s back.

Another girl, who had gotten her latté behind her, squealed quietly.

Magnus’ eyes fluttered open and he let go of Alec almost instantly, pulling back.

"Oh." The girl, who couldn't have been more than 15, blushed. "Sorry about that. Just... you and your boyfriend look really cute, you know!"

She said this all very quickly, and now it was Alec's turn to gain a fiery tinge to his cheeks. "I'm not - we're not-"

The girl nervously swept her hair behind her ear. "Well, um, you should be."

She walked out of the café and Magnus looked a little bit like someone had just struck him with lightning.

"That was," Magnus started, dazed, "different?"

Izzy looked over at Maia with a deadpan gaze. "Yeah. Very different."

But as Alec and Magnus both brushed it off, Maia realised that it would take more than someone bluntly pointing it out to them for the two to finally get the hell together.

Why couldn't they just get together like the characters in her book did as her fingers flew across the keyboard?

…

_“No,” Lord Borthwick said, shaking his head, “we allowed you to play with the boy, we did not expect you to go off and marry him!”_

_Michael was standing still, his back unnaturally straight; there was now a ring glittering on his left hand. “Play with him?” Michael said coolly. “Did you think this was all an act to get on your nerves?”_

_Lady Borthwick laughed almost hysterically. “Of course. He is not a suitable match for a Borthwick.”_

_“I don’t care,” Michael replied, slowly walking away from their parents, “I love him, and that is what is important.”_

_Lord Borthwick took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Fine. Then we’ll cut off your inheritance.”_

_It was one of the harshest of verdicts, but Michael didn’t even flinch. “Fine. You know I trained as a lawyer. Do you even know how I met Dian?”_

_“No,” Lord Borthwick responded, “otherwise we would have prohibited the situation.”_

_“In town,” Michael continued as if Lord Borthwick had never spoken, “after I was walking home from work. I was going to move in with Dian after our wedding anyway.”_

_Lady Borthwick sputtered. “The – the scandal!”_

_The tension was thick, bubbling along like a stew on the brink of burning._

_“Stop,” Edith snarled, stepping out from behind the pillar. “Dian is a perfectly nice man, as you would know if you stopped being such stuck up pricks.”_

_Lady Borthwick glared at her. “You do not get involved in this,” she hissed, “you’re going to be married in a few months, anyway.”_

_Edith started to pull the pins from her hair in a careful yet rapid manner. “What if I don’t want to get married?” she said as her hair started to tumble out in messy curls._

_Lord Borthwick snorted. “Not as long as you live under my roof.”_

_“She can come live with me,” Michael cut in smoothly, “then we’ll be out of your hair for good. Isn’t that what you want?”_

_Lady Borthwick crumpled onto the couch. “No,” she whispered, “we just wanted normal children.”_

…

Alec stopped reading and put the book down, but Magnus didn’t stop staring at it, his gaze ravenous.

“You can’t stop there,” he protested, “why cut it off there?”

Alec sighed, shaking his head fondly. “Read the book, Magnus, like the rest of us.”

“But I don’t want to be ahead,” Magnus said, looking down as if he was trying not to pout. “I want the story to unfold for the first time as we slowly pour all over it!”

He pointed an accusing finger at Alec. “Torturer!”

“Okay, okay,” Maia interrupted, “we’re adults. Magnus, sit down and Alec, well." She shrugged, leaning back into the couch. “You’re fine.”

She normally wouldn't have intervened in what she secretly called their 'lover’s spats', but Magnus was holding an almost full glass of champagne and Maia really didn’t want to have to clean it out of her carpet.

“Anyway,” Alec continued, “I chose to look over this scene tonight because it is the culmination of the book – what everything has been leading to; Edith’s liberation, Michael’s defiance, The Borthwick parents losing what is most valuable to them because of prejudice.” He shrugged, his eyes slightly wet. “A little too close to home, I must admit.”

Magnus put down his glass and got up to hug Alec gently. “It’s alright,” he muttered, “do you want me to take over?”

Alec shook his head, his hands clutching at Magnus. “No, I’m fine. Thank you, though.”

Magnus slowly exited the hug and Alec's fingers trailed behind him like he was grasping at smoke.

Alec cleared his throat. “It’s the climax if you would like to be more succinct.”

Raphael, who hadn't gotten his phone out all evening, was following the conversation closely, his eyes flickering from person to person. “And what a bitter conclusion it is for our dear Lord and Lady Borthwick,” he said, his eyes glittering with mirth, but also with empathy.

“They deserve it,” Catarina said, “it really shows that no matter how the world may try to be more liberal, in the end, people will always fear and therefore discriminate against the unknown.”

The mutiny was broken by Simon poking his head in from his study.

“Hello,” he said, “go on, diss the Borthwicks. They really are a tough lot. I’m just getting some coffee.”

“You’ve read _Division_?” Catarina asked, her eyes alight with interest. “What did you think of it? The pacing? The plot? The characters?”

Simon paused from where he was now reaching for their coffee pot. “Um.” He blinked, his eyes darting from person to person. “I think it’s a good book?”

“But what’s your favourite part?” Alec pressed. “The climax? I think mine's the climax because the showdown between the Borthwicks and their children is simply enthralling.”

“Hey,” Maia interrupted once again. “Leave Simon alone, honestly, liking a book and wanting to discuss it in excruciating detail are not the same thing.”

Simon’s eyes met hers, briefly, the thankfulness in them clear.

Lest they find out that Simon had not, indeed, just read the book, but instead been a supportive boyfriend, helping her to iron out some of the particularly frustrating plot holes with tons of ice cream and chips.

“Fine,” Alec said quickly. “Then what’s yours?”

“It’s not a big scene,” she answered carefully, “but the afternoon tea with Michael, Edith and Dian, near the end of the book. It’s a quiet scene, yes, but it shows the spoils of the victory.”

“Hm,” Alec replied, absentmindedly tapping the book, “not my choice, but that was a powerful scene.”

Alec started to pull out a sheaf of paper. “Tonight’s activity will be individual. I thought perhaps an hour of writing about what _Division_ means to us, as well as a detailed explanation of our favourite scenes. Quotes are encouraged.”

“Sounds nice.” Catarina sipped her tea. “Reminds me of AP Literature.”

A statement most people would utter bitterly, but that Catarina only spoke with undeniable warmth.

“Excellent idea, Alec.” Maia got up. “Let me organize some snacks for the peckish amongst us first.”

When she sat back down, Simon had slipped away and the murmur of voices had died down so that only the patter of rain could be heard from outside.

She picked up her pen, curling up on the couch, before letting the words fly.

Care had to be taken to reverse her position from the author to the reader, but it was still an exhilarating exercise.

It barely felt like a blink of an eye when the timer rung out, long and sharp.

“Right.” Alec stopped the alarm. “Well, I won’t ask you to share your responses.”

Raphael blinked lazily. “You won’t?” he asked, his surprise badly concealed.

Alec laughed. “No. Even I realise when to draw the line. These are likely very personal.”

It was only then that Maia noticed that Alec had turned away from the group and his response was now clenched in his hands, folded.

Alec’s next smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I know mine is,” he muttered almost like an afterthought.

Catarina nodded. “Quite an exhausting but still enlightening experience. Well, I should go now. Don’t want to tire the babysitter out.”

Raphael stood up too. “As should I.”

The two left, the air swishing in from the outside world as the door swung closed.

Alec still hadn’t gotten up, simply staring listlessly at the TV, barely blinking.

Yet finally, he stood up almost in a daze.  “I hate to go,” he said, scratching the back of his neck, “but I did agree to meet Izzy for a late dinner.” He turned to Magnus and if possible, started to fidget faster. “Do you mind if I take the car?”

Magnus smiled, waving his hand not holding the champagne. “Of course not.”

“Are you sure?” Alec insisted. “It’s getting dark, and I’m not sure if it’ll be safe to walk soon…”

Magnus put down his glass. “I’ll be fine,” he stressed. “Don’t make Izzy wait on my behalf.”

Alec walked out of the door, but not before throwing a worried look over his shoulder.

Maia sat down back on the couch after showing Alec out, offering Magnus a chocolate, which he accepted gracefully. “Thanks, Maia.”

“I don’t mind driving you home,” Maia said after the crinkling of wrappers had died down.

Magnus smiled again, but this time it was a little strained. “Thank you, but it’s really not necessary. Alec just worries a lot.”

“About the people he cares about,” Maia said, “which includes you.”

His smile had now lost almost all of its sparkle. “But does it really?”

“Yes, Magnus.” The sun continued to dip below the skyline. “You literally live together.”

“Yeah,” he dismissed instantly, “but I was the one who asked, and he was probably too kind to decline. It’s an economically wise decision, after all, and I must be an improvement after Jace.”

Maia grimaced briefly, before slipping into her comfort zone of complimenting other people, even though she couldn’t stand vice versa. “You’ve been best friends for so many years.”

Magnus laughed, but it was not kind. “And?” he whispered, his eyes darting down in almost a shameful manner. “That’s great and all, but the pain of almost having what you most desire in your hands, almost, but not quite, is it really worth it?”

Maia opened up her mouth to respond, a little breathless by the sheer self-hate pouring out of Magnus’ mouth, but before she got the chance to, Magnus answered himself.

“But of course,” he said, his lips twisting into a sneer, “for anything is better than nothing, and I am too selfish to simply be satisfied with what I already have.”

“Magnus?” Maia probed gently after a stretch of silence, and never had she been more grateful for Simon’s tendency to get utterly lost in his own world. “Are you trying to tell me something about your feelings for Alec?”

“What?” Magnus snapped, before deflating once again. “I must apologise, Maia, I don’t know what’s gotten into me, this is entirely inappropriate.”

“Magnus,” Maia continued, “suppression is only a temporary fix. I should know. It’s only a matter of time before the pipe bursts. But,” she paused, biting her lip, “are you in love with Alec?”

Magnus sighed, his eyes glassy as he swirled around his champagne.

“Yes,” he admitted quietly, “I am. But please don’t tell anyone.”

…

Maia put her coffee down carefully before turning to the screen, where Underhill was watching her anxiously.

“Are you sure?” Underhill asked, his concern filtering through the screen. “I know that there is some societal pressure starting to build for you to reveal yourself, but if you choose not to, it’ll die down.”

Maia watched the steam curl off her coffee. “I’m sure. I only wrote a book, after all, it’s not like I’m going to get mobbed on the train.”

“Hopefully.” Underhill frowned, the skyline of London clear in the background. “Do you want to wait for me to get back?”

Maia tapped her pen against her notepad. “A few more days for the conference, right, then you’ll be back?”

She flicked through her calendar. The next book club meeting was this Saturday. Underhill would be back by Wednesday.

Underhill nodded. “Hopefully. They already extended it one day.”

Okay, he would be back by Thursday, then.

“Yeah,” Maia said. “I think an interview would be the best way to go.”

Underhill hummed. “We have been impounded by multiple requests. Would the New York Times work?”

Maia dropped her pen. “Wait, _what?_ ”

“Maia, you’ve seen the figures.” Underhill’s tone was serious, but a small smile slipped through. “You are a wildly successful author. Have you checked your bank account recently?”

Maia had diverted her royalties into her and Simon’s joint bank account and Simon, with his accounting background, typically handled their finances – he always encouraged her to get involved if that was what she wanted, his glasses slipping from his nose. Simon had, briefly, mentioned a few weeks ago that they would be able to live comfortably now and had even almost pushed her profits into her face, but had stopped after Maia had quietly admitted that a surplus of money made her feel uncomfortable - like she held too much of the universe’s power. They were still looking into which charities it would be most appropriate to donate to.

“No,” she replied after a brief pause. “I only really care that it is wildly successful enough that my friends chose it for book club!”

“They did?” Underhill laughed, shaking his head. “Have Magnus and Alec figured out the romantic side of things yet?”

“Nope. It’s almost like they’re so blinded by their own love that they can’t see that they're not alone in their pining. Whilst I am doing this reveal for my overall peace of mind, it is also another effort to get those two idiots together.”

“They are adorable. Does this mean that we get to meet?” Underhill asked, his eyes darting across the screen as he typed away.

He was a big fan of the two despite never meeting them; he had been the recipient of many of Maia’s rants about their constant, pointless pining. Well, that in conjunction with the fact that they were both immense inspirations for two of her main characters.

“Maybe.” Maia grinned, feeling lighter already. “But back to the point.”

Underhill was awfully good at deflecting, easing people into their comfort zones before coming in for the metaphorical kill.

“Fine.” Underhill sighed, looking directly at her. “They have been very impressed by your book, Maia, and they want to have the credit for lifting the curtain, so to speak.”

“Right,” Maia said, still in disbelief. “Well, I’ll take it, then. No need to stare a gift horse in the mouth.”

Underhill grinned. “Good! I’ll let them know. You go get your friends together. I want to hear good news after your next book club meeting, okay? Let me meet them as a couple.”

Maia smiled. “Thanks, Underhill. And I’ll try. Not like I haven’t been ever since I met them.”

Underhill's laugh rolled out like a horse galloping; smooth and fast, but with that edge of roughness that made it real. "Do you have any conditions? How would you like the interview to be conducted? Pamela Paul would love to host you on her podcast if that would make it easier.”

"A podcast?” Where she could control the content directly? Definitely. “That would be so much easier than a glaring cover spread. I finish work early on Friday," said Maia, looking down at her calendar, "are you working?"

Underhill shook his head. "Didn't want to mix jetlag with intellectual work."

"Smart choice. Well, I don't mind going to them. Do you mind escorting me?" Maia asked, trying not to incessantly tap her pen against her desk.

"Didn't know I was working with royalty," Underhill said, mock bowing. His face softened. "Of course, Maia. When should it be aired?"

Maia bit her lip. “In the evening on Saturday? A nice, relaxed time that would slip under the radar of most people who aren't interested?"

Underhill started to type. "So you mean children who are too young to read?"

Maia groaned. "Underhill. _Stop._ I don't have an ego that needs to be stoked."

"No, you don't, so I need to craft one for you," Underhill said lightly, but the sympathy in his eyes granted his quip a much more serious underlying message.

Perhaps Maia's ego was practically non-existent. Perhaps that was because her parents had looked at her like she was nothing and her brother extracted from her what he could of 'value' and then tossed it into the trash. Perhaps.

But now that she was away from those toxic influences of her life, she was starting to piece together a healthy ego for herself, kind of. She still found it really difficult to take pride in her work. But Simon had picked up a brush, too, and was helping to fill in the cracks with patience and love.

"Yeah, yeah." Maia waved her hands, dismissing the compliments like errant crumbs. "I'll let you get back to your conferences."

Underhill adjusted his tie. "Don't remind me. They're deathly boring. But bye, Maia. May you have a better afternoon than me."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Maia said, grinning a little, "and thank you."

…

Maia suppressed a yawn as her eyes skimmed over the latest lab report for the dozenth time that day.

Her office was cluttered; a coffee cup from this morning lying next to her phone, stacks of reports huddled next to her computer.

Maia did love her work – but looking over intern’s messy reports simply wasn’t her idea of fun. At least she had the research trip to the Great Barrier Reef in a few weeks, which would be hands-on fieldwork instead of mind-numbing paperwork.

Her phone started to vibrate incessantly and Maia groaned, peeling her eyes away from the screen to pick it up with one hand.

The current background was herself in the silver dress that swept to the floor in elegant curves, with Simon pulling her in close. Her other arm was linked with Alec’s who stood in a pristine suit, standing next to Magnus who was looking at Alec, wearing nothing short of a doting look. Magnus had put in so much work into the gala, and the memory still rang strong in her mind.

…

_The gala was beautiful; elegant and classy. It was in their office space, but it looked undistinguishable under the dim light, with lasers darting across the tables in an array of light. The tables were covered with silver tablecloths and a nice assortment of nuts and lavosh was scattered across the room._

_Magnus entered in a navy suit, with Alec next to him. He looked comfortable for once in a situation where he normally wouldn’t._

_"Magnus!" Maia said. "And you brought Alec!"_

_Magnus grinned, his eyes twinkling warmly. "That I did."_

_Simon's arm was looped around Maia's waist - yet it wasn't possessive, more a comforting, protective weight if anything._

_Simon, unfortunately, did not show the same tact with Magnus and Alec._

_"So you're dating now?" Simon asked, winking._

_Alec simply glared at him. "We're just friends," he said quickly, almost defensively._

_Magnus simply laughed. "Just friends," he confirmed, putting his hand to his heart in mock horror, "best friends, might I add! But yeah," he added a bit more seriously, "we're not dating."_

…

Slowly, the picture and the memory disappeared under an onslaught of messages.

> _time_
> 
> _for_
> 
> _break_
> 
> _don’t_
> 
> _ignore_
> 
> _me_
> 
> _i’ve_
> 
> _got_
> 
> _all_
> 
> _day_

Maia unlocked her phone. Ah, the pleasures of having a boyfriend who knew you were a workaholic.

> _Fine, fine, I’m going off to lunch._
> 
> _good. if you see izzy, drag her along._
> 
> _Will do._
> 
> _she’s almost as bad as you._
> 
> _Hilarious._
> 
> _anyway, love you!_
> 
> _Love you too x_

Right. Maia sighed, saving the document and watching her screen flicker to black with an unusual amount of relish.

She swung her bag onto her shoulder before heading out, switching the light off.

The forensic labs were located at the other side of the building, but it was, thankfully, not a large building, just a brisk walk across a park with a waterfall.

Maia wasn’t exactly sure as to why there was a waterfall, but it was a pleasant enough spot to bring Simon when he felt the odd urge to visit.

When Maia approached the labs, Izzy was still inside, her hair tied up into a loose bun with a chopstick poking through the curls. Currently slicing up someone’s stomach with practised ease, she looked a little lost in her own world.

Maia opted to glare through the glass, lightly rapping on it.

“Hey,” she called out, “those corpses of yours won’t be helped if you drop dead too!”

Izzy looked up, blinking from underneath thick glasses that were one of the many hygiene precautions.

She peeled off her gloves before disappearing, emerging with her hair falling clumsily out of her bun and her lab coat gone, replaced by a classy ensemble.

“Where do you want to go?” Izzy asked, running her hand through her hair to detangle it.

“Potbelly?” Maia suggested. “My treat.”

Izzy tore her gaze away from the corpse. “Sure,” she said, a little more reluctantly, “that’d be nice. Food, I mean.”

“Izzy, we’re entitled to a lunch break every day,” Maia said. Another scientist was working on another body a few benches away. “The bodies aren’t going to get any deader.”

Izzy sighed. “Alright, let’s go.”

The Potbelly wasn’t too far away, a nice brisk walk that helped to clear away some of the cobwebs that the practical reports had started to weave.

“My work is nowhere near as interesting as yours,” Maia sighed as they left the building, “the new influx of interns means a new influx of idiots.”

“Maia!” Izzy gasped. “We were interns once!”

Maia scoffed. “Yeah, for like a week.”

They decided to sit outside and make the most of the sun that dappled the sidewalks.

“Risky,” Maia said, eyeing Izzy’s sandwich. “Cuba sounds great and all, but can you really trust the inventiveness of the food industry?”

Izzy took a bite. “Yeah.” She wiped at the sauce dribbling down her chin. “This is great!”

“Well,” Maia said, unwrapping her own sandwich, “chicken’s a classic. Can’t go wrong with it.”

As Maia ate the sandwich, she wasn’t disappointed. Melted, stringy cheese, crispy bread and chicken cooked to perfection. More authentic than Subway, in some cases cheaper, and definitely closer.

“Hm,” Izzy said, “sometimes change is a good thing.”

“Change is a dependent variable,” Maia stressed, lowering her sandwich, “it is very dependent on the situation. Now, if change was an independent variable, this wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Okay, Maia,” Izzy interrupted, stifling a laugh, “clearly you’ve been dealing with too many practical reports recently.”

“Tell me about it,” Maia grumbled, already missing the escapist nature of creative writing.

Izzy nodded, but it was more of a nostalgic nod than anything else. “That’s why I love just getting to do all the work and sending all the data off to our ‘highly elite team of report writers’.”

“Oh,” Maia said nostalgically, “wish that I’d stayed out of that category. Speaking of writing, would you like to come to book club this weekend?”

Izzy shrugged. “Sure,” she said around a mouthful of food.

“It’s at Magnus and Alec’s, about seven.”

Izzy brightened. “Speaking of Magnus.” Then she frowned. “Why am I smiling? This isn’t good news. Anyway,” she shook her head, “Magnus has been on edge lately, like he’s about to crack and spill something huge.”

Her heart thrumming, Maia asked, “His feelings for Alec?”

Izzy laughed again. “Don’t be ridiculous. Anyway, don’t be surprised if he seems a little off this weekend.”

“Okay,” Maia replied.

Izzy had almost finished her sandwich when she next broke the silence. “How’s Simon?”

“He’s good.” Maia smiled, finally picking up her own sub again. “What about you? Anyone special?”

Izzy shrugged again, pushing her hair out of her eyes. “Oh, can’t be bothered. There was this one doctor, Charlie, who would not stop hitting on me.” She shuddered. “It was awful. Threw me off dating for a while.”

“Well,” Maia looked across the table, saw the sparkle in her eyes and the lightness in her shoulders, “take your time.”

After all, good things couldn’t be rushed. But they also should not never happen.

…

The walk up to Magnus and Alec’s apartment was starting to feel more familiar, the stain next to their door no longer a splatter but a mark of their home.

Izzy swung the door open to an Alec who was getting out glasses, muttering under his breath.

Alec put down the last glass, turned towards the door and smiled. "Maia! Izzy! It's great to see you."

Izzy leant forward and hugged her brother. "I came because I was promised some of Magnus' amazing cookies. But, the book club thing too, I guess, sounds interesting."

Alec gasped. "Betrayed by my own blood! I'll have you know that tonight we are listening to the author reveal of the novel we have recently been studying."

Izzy sighed, walking over to the large, plush armchair to sink into it. "See, this is why I didn't join your book club before. It's so... academic."

"Is there a problem with that?" Alec asked, tapping his pen against the couch.

Izzy shook her head. "No. Now Magnus, where are those cookies I was promised?"

Magnus was a little bit dazed when he finally peeled his gaze away from Alec. "They're in the oven. You two are a little early and I wanted them to be nice and hot for the interview which will be released in," he checked his watch, which was as golden and elegant as himself, "about half an hour."

"This is a celebration?" Izzy laughed. "Magnus, I thought you said you keep the book club fun!"

"Let's just say that I have a soft spot that makes it hard to follow through," Magnus said, smoothing down his apron. It was simple with thick, bold lines: _le chat_ , with a haughty cat staring out in the distance in black and white strokes. "Anyway. Maia, how are you?"

Maia smiled from where she had sunk into a beanbag, swirling a bronze bangle around her wrist. "Nervous. I have something that I need to confess before the interview."

A cat meowed and brushed up against Magnus' legs and he leant down absentmindedly to pat it. "Don't be nervous, dear. We won't judge."

Alec looked up from where he had been talking to his sister, the thick scowl marring his face quickly fading. "Whatever it is."

Maia still felt - well, nervous wasn't the truth, not really, but on edge. But she still shared a long look with Izzy at the smooth, delicate rhythm that Magnus and Alec had unknowingly slipped into. Those absolute domestic idiots.

"Hopefully." She sighed, then realised that Magnus and Alec didn't have a cat. "Um, Magnus? Whose cat is that?"

The cat in question pushed its tiny, calico head into Magnus' palm and purred. "Ours," he answered, "I found Chairman Meow shivering in an alley not that far away a few days ago. The poor thing."

"So he brought the cat home, sopping wet," Alec cut in, his tone incredulous but his eyes warm instead of bitter, "and slightly late. He hadn't texted to say that he'd be home a little late, so dinner was getting colder by the minute. I'd given in and started to eat when Magnus just bursts in and is like 'we have a cat now'."

"Magnus!" Izzy admonished, her eyes twinkling. "That is not how you adopt a cat!"

"Well," Magnus shrugged, finally putting Chairman Meow down for the cat to slip back into the shadows. "Alec just accepted it, so. We have a cat now."

"We took him to the vet yesterday and he's clean," Alec added hurriedly. "Perks of being your own landlords, we didn't need to check with anyone but ourselves."

They were even using the collective pronoun _we_. Yet they still denied being a couple. Could they be any more infuriating?

Maia got up to answer the ringing door that Magnus and Alec hadn't noticed, though whether they had been too enraptured with the story or each other wasn't clear.

"Catarina," she greeted, smiling, "come in, our pining idiots got a cat."

Catarina came in. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders and she wore a red dress under her cream coat; it was unusual to see Catarina outside of the very simplest of clothes. A bottle of wine - pretty fancy looking - was clasped in her hands.

"Oh," Maia added, a little less bright. "Didn't know that this reveal was such a big thing for you."

Catarina smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear to reveal beautiful diamond earrings. "This book... it's not often that you get to see aroace people reflected so prominently and positively in mainstream media. It means a lot to me, so I dressed accordingly."

"Is that all for Magnus?" Maia asked jokingly, pointing to the wine. In reality, she felt like someone had shoved something down her throat. Edith wasn't like Michael or Dian, not heavily based on one important person in her life. But there were bits and pieces of her snatched from the real world; her stubbornness and sexuality, certainly, had been inspired mainly by Catarina, a nurse who worked her fingers off yet still wore a smile nearly every day.

"No, no," Catarina said, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "He's not drinking tonight, actually. Said something about he can't be trusted around flames whilst intoxicated."

 _More like can't be trusted around Alexander Lightwood whilst tipsy_ , Maia mused. "How's Madzie?" she asked instead.

Catarina placed the bottle of wine onto the granite countertop. "It hasn't been easy, but she's opening up. She's adorable and," her voice dropped as a smirk graced her face, "she loves her new uncles. She flat out refused to believe me when I told her that they weren't married."

"Like those two when the idea of something 'romantic' between them arises.  Could have just as well told them that their hair is on fire and they need to let it burn."

The doorbell rang again so Maia said, "Should get that. Go and tease those idiots for me!"

"Will do," Catarina replied as she hung her coat.

Maia opened the door. "Ragnor and Raphael," she said, "please come in. Our friends are too wrapped in each other to remember that they're supposed to be hosting tonight. Don't worry about closing the door quickly."

Ragnor and Raphael both came in, took off their light coats and shook the water away. Raphael added another bottle of wine to the pile as Ragnor added an expensive looking bottle of champagne.

Did people really like her work this much that they were turning her whole reveal into a party?

 _Oh_. This may be harder than she initially thought.

Magnus, who had gone back to petting Chairman Meow, looked up with a blazing smile that almost - almost - concealed the twitch in his jaw and the shimmer of nerves in his eyes. "Ragnor! How was London?"

"Absolutely wonderful," Ragnor said, pulling off his deep emerald gloves. "You should come one time."

Magnus shrugged. "Perhaps."

Ragnor frowned. "My friend, please do not tell me that that is a cat that you are holding?"

"Said the same thing," Alec cut in, "next thing I knew, there was a food bowl with Chairman Meow's name on it with the adoption papers signed."

Ragnor sighed and sunk onto the couch next to Magnus. "I go away for three weeks, and you've changed apartments and adopted a cat. Is there anything else I should be aware of?"

Raphael, on the contrary, had walked over to nibble on one of Magnus' freshly baked cookies, watching the two with a bored yet still interested gaze.

"No," Magnus protested. "And you knew about the apartment! But the new book we selected had a mysterious author."

"Had?" Ragnor frowned, putting his gloves into his pocket. "Please do spill."

Catarina rolled her eyes. " _Division_ , by A. Wright?"

"Oh yes," Ragnor said, nodding, the recognition dawning in his eyes freaking Maia out. She thought her publisher had been kidding about the immense international interest that her book had been garnering, but apparently not if even someone as disinterested in popular culture as Ragnor had heard of it.

"I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but from what I've heard, it's an absolutely riveting read. Not to mention revolutionary. Ah. So, A. Wright's a pseudonym, then? Why come clean now?"

Alec shrugged, winding around Chairman Meow as he placed a bowl of chips onto the table. "Your guess is as good as ours. Perhaps wanting to claim such a successful novel?"

 _Now or never_ , Maia thought. In twenty minutes, the cards would be thrust out of her hands, anyway.

"Um," Maia cleared her throat, and everyone looked at her. "Well, I may know where they're coming from." _I can't be bothered hiding from my family anymore._ "I, ah, recently published a book myself."

"You did?" Alec asked, excitement bubbling up in his voice. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"You see." Maia checked her watch. Nineteen minutes. "I wasn't sure how well it'd go. If it would flop or soar. Also," she leant against the wall, trying to feign nonchalance, "it's a pretty personal book to me. Very... inspired by the real world."

"Did Simon know?" Izzy asked, leaning forward, the spark in her eyes starting to unveil an understanding as to why, perhaps, Maia had begged her to come.

"Of course. He's been great." Maia walked over to sit back down in the beanbag, crossing her legs and facing all of her friends’ gazes burning with curiosity. "But, I think, I'm ready for you guys to know too."

"Okay," Alec said slowly, "but Maia, that's nothing to be ashamed of! You've written a novel and gotten published and all under our noses, too!"

Catarina clapped her hands together. "Ah! What was it that you put in that shames us, then?"

Maia couldn't stop twisting her bangle around and around her wrist. "Nothing that shames you, per se."

Chairman Meow squiggled out of a Magnus' slack grasp as he got up to get a glass of water. The minutes ticked nearer, closer, and Maia swallowed.

Alec looked undeterred. "Maia, you've got to tell us what it is! Maybe we can study it as our next book."

Izzy scoffed. "Oh, like Maia would like to have her book be psychoanalysed by you lot."

Magnus walked back, sitting down to sip his water. "A novel is nothing to be ashamed of. So, Maia, should we just google it instead?"

Maia watched Raphael switch on his phone like it had been hidden under his sleeve, but she shook her head. "There's no point. It's under a pseudonym - well, for now, anyway."

"And," Maia's breath hitched, "there's no need, Alec. Not if we're already studying it."

Magnus spat out his water, which thankfully only landed on Alec who was sitting next to him, too shocked to care. Or lovesick. Probably a combination of the two.

"Wait, what?" Alec asked finally, rubbing Magnus' back as he choked a little bit. "Really? You're A. Wright?"

Maia watched the pendulum of their cuckoo clock swing. 12 minutes. "Yeah. Just listen to the interview in a few minutes."

Ragnor raised an eyebrow. "And why would this not be a prank?"

"Do I joke?" Maia challenged and then shook her head again. "It's going to be released in eleven minutes. Listen to the interview and don't pelt me with too many pillows."

The look of shock still hadn't left Alec's face. "What are you going to say?"

Maia shrugged, taking her shoes off and curling further into the beanbag. "Nothing that isn't true."

"Is that what this is about?" Izzy asked, her eyes glinting. "Were you serious when you said that?"

"Yes," Maia groaned, slipping back into the comfortable buzz of the night as her friends just stared at her, clearly a little stunned, but not in disbelief but in a state of _ok, this is where we are at now_. "It was so irritating that I wrote my feelings away. And it didn't even work!"

"Oh," Catarina said, clearly catching on. "Is the interview going to help?"

"Hopefully," Maia grumbled. "It's a last-ditch effort. If this doesn't work, I don't know what will!"

"What are you talking about?" Magnus asked, having finally recovered from his coughing fit. "Should I be concerned?"

"Only a little," Maia said, winking, "if you're honest, you've got no reason to be scared."

The oven started to beep and Magnus stood up, the mittens still hung around his waist.

“The batches were spread out,” he explained, shrugging with a breezy grin, but he didn’t look happy.

Alec got up and connected his iPad to their speakers, the cord snaking across the table.

10 minutes.

The oven stopped beeping as Magnus slid the tray onto a cooling rack.

Raphael slid his phone away. “Can you spill?”

Maia drummed her fingers against the beanbag. “Nope.”

Catarina’s eyes were sparkling. “Thanks, Maia. It truly is an amazing book.”

“Ah, no problem.” Maybe this was the real reason that Maia hadn’t come clean sooner. The onslaught of compliments made her mildly uncomfortable.

“I’ve got a song I’d like to share tonight,” Catarina continued, “in the spirit of the book, as well as myself. It’s called _Never Been In Love_ by Will Jay.”

She turned to Alec as Magnus waited for the cookies to cool. “Is it okay if I play it?”

Alec smiled, waving his hand lazily. “Go ahead.”

Only the clatter of the cookies landing onto cooling racks broke the silence.

Then a bright, steady beat started to filter through the speakers.

A small gasp escaped Maia's lips. The lyrics were absolutely stunning.

Catarina was humming under her breath, the familiarity she had with the song clearly evident by the way she just relaxed against the couch.

As the song winded down to an end, Magnus walked over with another platter of cookies – gingersnaps, this time. “Hey,” he said softly, “Catarina, that song was beautiful. Where did you find it?”

Catarina snatched up a biscuit. “It’s widely promoted in the a-spec community.”

Raphael was nodding as well. “I’m not one for music, much, but that song is one of the few that doesn’t make me want to instantly barf.”

“Madzie particularly likes it,” Catarina remarked idly. “So did her school. Ticked all the boxes of their non-sexual agenda.”

Izzy laughed, a sound that helped to lift the room up, back to its previous carelessness. “Of course.”

Magnus’ grip on his glass was unnaturally tight. “Is she settling in well?”

“You see her practically every day,” Catarina said, sweeping her hair to the side. “But yes, she is. Do you want to hear another one of his songs?”

“Sure,” Maia replied. “They’re really refreshing.”

“Like your book,” Catarina said, getting up. “This one’s called _Gangsta_.”

This song was similar; clever lyrics that challenged stupid societal standards. It almost made Maia forget her own nerves, as it encapsulated how differently Simon treated her compared to Jordan; that he hasn’t been a ‘gangsta’ like Jordan who cared more about his appearance than his girlfriend’s feelings.

The songs also swept away time, leaving a mere minute until her confession spilled into cyberspace.

“He’s my favourite singer,” Catarina admitted as the song came to a close.

Ragnor nodded. “If you have to choose a singer, at least choose one who is good and challenges society for the better.”

Ragnor’s gaze flickered to Maia. “I must say congratulations, Maia, from what the critics have said your book is truly amazing.”

“Thank you.” Her response was curt, her eyes glued to the cuckoo clock.

As the seconds drew closer, Magnus started to nibble on a gingersnap, his eyes darting incessantly around the room.

The clock ticked to 7:30 and Alec got up, almost like he had been shocked by electricity. He clicked on something, and then another before the warble of the podcast started to spread across the room.

It wasn’t long before Maia was met with the sound of her own voice.

…

_“Yes, I am A. Wright.” Maia chuckled a little._

_Pamela sighed. “But what’s your real name?”_

_“Maia Roberts. I’m a marine biologist who lives in NYC. Relatively quiet life – don’t start flooding my inbox with requests, you’re not getting anything.”_

_“Ah, the mystery has been solved. So, Maia, what led you to write such a compelling book?”_

_“A lecture,” Maia admitted. “Which gave seed to the idea of a historical diversion. But another large well of inspiration was frustration.”_

_“Well, history can be awfully frustrating at times,” Pamela cut in._

_Maia tucked her hair behind her ear. “No, not that.”_

_The ethics of what she was about to say were debatable. But then again, the short-term humiliation would be nothing on the painful pining that would likely continue if she didn’t dare to pull her last and, honestly, largest, card._

_“More to do with my two friends,” she continued, “Magnus and Alec. I… ah, largely based Dian and Michael off those two.”_

_Pamela smiled, and on another interviewer, it would have been wicked with the desire to extract everything possible from Maia. But on her, it was simply kind. “Are your friends also romantically involved?”_

_Maia shook her head for a while before she remembered that this was a strictly audio interview. “No, they’re not, unfortunately.”_

_“So what prompted you to write them in such a matter?” asked Pamela as she leant forward._

_“I wish they were,” Maia confessed, letting her eyes drop from Pamela's scrutinising gaze, “and for no perverse reasons, but simply because they’ve both been pining pointlessly for years.”_

_Pamela laughed, her bracelets jingling. “So you’re saying that you got so tired of your friends pining that you wrote a book where they actually got together?”_

_“Basically,” Maia said, a slow smile spreading across her face. There were worse reasons to write a book, after all. “Probably wouldn’t have been such a problem if it hadn’t become a bestseller!”_

…

The interview ended, not that anyone really noticed. Izzy had quietly switched the podcast off once Maia had thanked Pamela for the interview. Magnus had dropped his biscuit long ago, staring blankly into the couch, adamantly refusing to meet anybody’s gaze.

Alec cleared his throat, disrupting the awkward silence that had nothing to do with the author reveal but everything to do with the public admission of his – and Magnus’ – pining.

That it had been a major influence, that Michael was not so loosely based off him, that, perhaps, if Alec held any perception whatsoever, Magnus’ shock wasn’t in disgust, but more as in _oh, am I dreaming?,_ had Alec frozen in place.

"Good thing it's just fiction, right?" Alec said, smiling. But his smile was too wide, adding bitterness to his otherwise breezy words.

He turned to Magnus. "Right?"

But Magnus, instead of replying with words, leant forward as if to hug Alec, to comfort him. But instead, he kissed him.

Alec melted into his touch, his hands winding around Magnus' waist and eyes fluttering closed.

Magnus was shining, too, but he was a flickering, wavering candle. The hand not cupping Alec's face was shaking.

Magnus pulled away gently and Alec's eyes stayed closed, horror starting to dawn in Magnus' eyes. "My feelings for you are definitely not fictional. I'm so sorry for kissing you, Alexander, that was completely inappropriate-"

"It's fine," Alec interrupted, and now the smile gracing his face could easily rival the sun. "I like you romantically, too."

Magnus buried his head into Alec’s shoulder, hands clutching almost desperately at his back. “That’s good.”

Then Alec whispered something into Magnus’ ear.

Alec smiled at the group. “If you’d give us a moment.”

But he didn’t wait for any responses before wandering off to one of their bedrooms, their hands interlinked.

Catarina smirked as the door slid closed behind them. “Finally.” She gave Maia a high-five. “If I could write and wasn’t constantly being run over by medical school, I would have done the same thing.”

“Do you think they’re kissing?” Izzy asked innocently, but her eyes were glittering – not contemptuously, but with meddling joy.

Ragnor carefully lowered his gingersnap. “No, Magnus is way too refined for that, dare I say.”

“Romantic,” Catarina interjected, grinning. “The word you’re looking for is romantic. We're all here, waiting outside, automatically killing the mood.”

Izzy groaned. “My brother is such a notorious romantic. What have we done?”

Maia grinned too, but it was the soft, warm buzz flowing underneath her skin that made her smile, not nerves that forced her to put on an ‘appropriate’ façade to the world. “Created the sappiest couple in the world.”

“But by making our friends very, very happy,” Ragnor added, and Maia thought she saw his eyes glimmer with tears. “Since Camille, Magnus hasn’t let anyone into his heart.”

“Magnus fell in love with Alec years ago,” Maia pointed out, a little confused, but yet again, she didn't know Magnus as well as she knew Alec.

Ragnor sighed, running a careful finger over the gingersnap. “Perhaps, but he didn’t offer up his heart, too scared to get it shattered again.”

“Alec won’t do that,” Izzy said, her earlier teasing tone foregone for a more deadly one.

Catarina smiled, one tinged with exhaustion but also an immense relief. “No, he won’t.”

And when Magnus and Alec both finally stumbled out, laughing, Maia finally felt her world settle into place.

As she had built herself back up in college, she had become fast friends with Magnus and Alec. Both had been shaken by their childhoods and Magnus scarred by a love so horrible he dared not speak of it; Alec too scared to give love even a sip.

Somewhere, as Maia had found Simon and had started to learn how to take care of herself, their thread had become entangled on her wrist. A knot of almost happiness, true, but unspeakable with the pain of not being able to never let go of the one you loved, instead being regulated to three-second hugs.

The knot had finally unravelled, and Maia couldn’t stop a large bubble of warmth from finally bursting in her heart.

Magnus had leapt; Alec had caught him, and it proved that none of them were a product of their parents, that they had independently carved their own paths. That they were worthy of love.

Edith proved that it was not the love of romance that granted a person the most comfort - that it was the love of family.

And the love that Magnus and Alec shared, and, dare she hope – her and Simon – may have been romantic in nature, but it was so true that it bound two souls into an unshakable, loving, and nurturing family.

Her book may not have been a tale of conventional love, but of finding a home within another person – or group of people – and that was what Maia had done.

…

Magnus and Alec's apartment had changed since Maia had last visited.

For this time, there were no longing gazes or gasps at the brushing of skin. Instead, Magnus and Alec's hands were loosely interlinked as they sat together on the same couch, a blanket draped over both of them.

The two had only been dating for a few weeks, but Magnus' smiles were already looser and Alec's laughs longer.

If it had been anyone else, Maia would have said _I told you so_. As it was, she was simply happy to bask in the pleasure of her victory.

"Right," she said, finally breaking the silence. This time she was lounging on an armchair. "Okay, fine. I concede. You can interrogate me."

Catarina was the first one to speak. "When did you start writing?"

"The second year of college," she answered, "when we covered Constantine in history and my imagination wouldn't stop nagging me."

Magnus looked up at her with eyes that glowed gently under the lamplight, reflecting his contentment. "When did you…." He cleared his throat, vaguely waving his other hand between himself and Alec. "Notice that we were... you know?"

"Pining?" Raphael cut in. "Like the rest of us. Since you two met."

"Oh my god," Magnus muttered as Alec groaned and dipped his head into Magnus' chest, "we really were obvious, weren't we?"

"Honestly," Maia said, kicking back her legs, "got to learn to act like a pro."

Alec lifted his head to glare at her, but it was weak. "We get it," he grumbled, "you wrote a book under all our noses. And we couldn't even keep our emotions in check."

"Except for from each other," Ragnor added idly, sipping his tea, "that was where you excelled."

"We are happy that you are together now," Catarina said. “The pining was simply awful. Not to mention the-"

"Ok, that's enough!" Magnus interrupted, but there was a barely concealed smile slowly spreading across his face. "I thought we were here to interrogate Maia, not us!"

"Well." Maia picked up a pillow. "I am in the process of writing a sequel to _Division_."

"Do we get to see the wedding?" Alec asked breathlessly, his eyes bright. "How does Edith act?"

Maia laughed, shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm under contract. Strictly no spoilers."

Alec, predictably, picked up a pillow and threw it at Maia.

Maia easily deflected it. "Gotta try harder, Lightwood."

Alec smirked. "Oh yeah?"

The pillows started to fly across the room.

And as the night dissolved into something full of warmth and love, Maia realised that some secrets were not meant to be kept.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed - comments and kudos are always appreciated xx
> 
> I spent more time daydreaming about _Division_ than I honestly would like to admit.
> 
> Also, here is [Will Jay](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC58Mpho6sS2AqnWUXSmivlQ), he is amazing, and all those songs I mentioned are real.
> 
> I have a [tumblr](https://mirrorofliterature.tumblr.com/) now!


End file.
